Tokyo Toden

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The Tokyo Toden (東京都電 Tōkyō Toden?) or simply Toden, is the streetcar network of Tokyo, Japan. Of all its former routes, only one, the Toden Arakawa Line, remains in service. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operates the Toden. The formal legal name is Tokyo-to Densha. Its nickname, "Toden," distinguished it from the "Kokuden" (electrified lines of the Japanese National Railways).

[edit] History

At its peak, the Toden system boasted 41 routes with 213 kilometers of track. However, the increase in reliance on automobile traffic resulted in reductions in ridership, and from 1967 to 1972, 181 km of track were abandoned as the Bureau changed its emphasis to bus and subway modes of transportation.

  • 1903: The Tokyo Horse-drawn Railway changed its motive power to electricity and, under the name Tokyo Electric Railway (or Tōden, 東電) commenced operations between Shinagawa and Shinbashi.
  • 1903: The Tokyo Urban Railway (or Gaitetsu, 街鉄) began operations between Sukiyabashi (in Ginza) and Kandabashi.
  • 1904: The Tokyo Electric Railway (Sotobori Line) connecting Shinbashi Station and Ochanomizu opened.
  • 1905: The three companies published the "Tokyo Geography Education Streetcar Song" to promote knowledge of the geography of Tokyo.
  • 1906: The three companies merged to form the Tokyo Railways.
  • 1911: Tokyo City purchased the Tokyo Railways, established its Electric Bureau, and inaugurated the Tokyo City Streetcar (東京市電) system.
  • 1911–1922: The streetcar network expands, with various new companies and lines serving areas in the city and to the west.
  • 1933: The route from Shinagawa Station to North Shinagawa Station is abandoned.
  • 1933–1943: New companies, mergers, and realignments alter the network.
  • 1943: Tokyo City is abolished and the larger Tokyo Prefecture assumes its administrative functions. The Tokyo City Streetcar bureau becomes the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation.
  • 1944: Service is stopped on nine segments.
  • 1952: The segment of the Imai Line between Higashi Arakawa and Imaibashi Stations was replaced with trolley buses.
  • 1953, 1961: Two segments (one in Shinjuku and the other connecting Shinbashi Station and Shiodome) stop operating.
  • 1967–1972: A plan for financial restructuring is put into effect in seven stages, resulting in the closing of routes.
  • 1974: A plan for abandoning the remaining track is cancelled. The remaining routes are consolidated into a single line, named the Arakawa Line.
  • 1978: One-man operation begins.
  • 1990: The 8500 Series rolling stock is introduced. It is the first new design in 28 years.
  • 2000: A new station, Arakawa Itchūmae, opens between two existing stations.
  • 2007 (projected): 9000 Series rolling stock is scheduled for introduction.

[edit] Selected abandoned routes

  • Imai Line, Higashi Arakawa – Imaibashi: An isolated route with no transfer stations to other lines in the network
  • Suginami Line, Shinjuku – Ogikubo: The only track with a gauge of 1067 mm. The rest of the network has a gauge of 1372 mm.
  • Tengenji Line: Tengenji-bashi – Ebisu Chōja-maru
  • Ueno Kōen-mae – Nezu Itchome (the line along the edge of Shinobazu Pond) ran on its own right-of-way.
  • Near Ichinohashi, on the Keiyō Road near Kamedo Station, and on Showa Street near Ueno Station, the tracks ran on the center lane of the roadways.
  • Trains from the Keihin Electric Railway directly entered a section from Shinagawa Station to Kita-Shinagawa Station.
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